Fourth Round: Packers Draft Playmaking Auburn Defensive Tackle Colby Wooden

At Auburn, Colby Wooden went from four sacks in 2020 to five in 2021 to six in 2022.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Apr 29, 2023 1:33 PM EDT
Original:
Apr 29, 2023

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers kicked off the third day of the 2023 NFL Draft by selecting Auburn defensive tackle Colby Wooden in the fourth round.

The 116th overall selection, he was a three-year starter with excellent productivity with 15 sacks and 29.5 tackles for losses during his final three seasons. He set career highs in 2022 with six sacks, 11.5 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles.

“Coming from Auburn, I know we got Rudy Ford up there and I definitely watched Rashan Gary come off the edge, Preston Smith, Kenny Clark. I watched all the greats, all those guys,” he said during his introductory Zoom call. “Watched all their film, watched all their tapes. Tried to use some of the things they do.”

Wooden has ‘tweener size at 6-foot-4 and 273 pounds. The snap numbers from Pro Football Focus are interesting. He played 259 snaps at defensive tackle but also 117 snaps at outside linebacker.

Whatever the position, he’s got excellent athleticism for his size with a 4.79 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.25.

Patrick Moore, the Packers’ assistant director of college scouting, said Wooden will play defensive tackle. He played at about 285 pounds at Auburn but slimmed down to run a better 40. Moore likes Wooden’s versatility to play inside and outside.

“He’s an inside pass-rush threat, for sure,” Moore said because of his quickness, strength and motor.

The Packers need to get faster, Moore said, which is why Wooden was so appealing at this spot. The game is changing and quickness is more important than grabbing the old-school 325-pounder, he said.

“He’s a coach’s dream" a scout told Auburn Daily. "Nobody is going to outwork him and football means a lot to him.”

Wooden went through position drills at Auburn’s pro day. His goal that day?

“I just wanted to show violence and then be fluid and smooth.”

Wooden’s first love was baseball.

“Coming up, my first sport was baseball, then I got hit in the mouth and said, ‘Know what? This ain’t for me,’” Wooden said at the Scouting Combine. “So, I chose a more violent sport – football. After football, I chose basketball for like two years, but then that was too much running for me, so I stuck with football.”

As noted by Sports Info Solutions, “He was originally recruited to be a “Buck”, which is a stand-up edge rusher in Auburn’s defense, but after a coaching change, he added more weight to become a more traditional defensive end.”

He weighed 239 when he arrived on the Auburn campus.

“I thought [edge defender] was my initial home, then when they asked me to bump inside, I had to learn that one,” Wooden said at the Scouting Combine. “So, rushing outside was more natural to me, but being more inside and spending more time getting more reps inside, it allowed me to work on the inside and being able to pass rush from the outside and the inside.”

Showing how hard he is to block, he drew 10 holding penalties the past three years.

“On early downs, he will be best suited to play as an edge or 5-tech, where his play strength has more of an opportunity to be displayed,” SIS wrote. “Then on third-down or passing down situations, he can be a moveable chess piece for a defensive front as a pass rusher.”

Wooden joins a defensive line group that started the day with only five players under contract. Of those, only Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt and T.J. Slaton had played in a game.

“They’re going to get a hard worker, someone that is extremely competitive,” Wooden said via AL.com. “Somebody that is going to show up every day and just learn and be a sponge, soak it all up. I know I’ve got leaps and bounds to go. I’m not where I want to be, but that’s why you go and do extra and learn from the guys that’ve been there, done that. So, I’m just excited to go learn.”

Green Bay is scheduled to have more eight picks on Saturday, including two shots in the fifth round.

Fifth round (No. 149):

Fifth round (No. 159): Pick acquired from Lions

Sixth round (No. 179): Pick acquired from Buccaneers

Sixth round (No. 207): Pick acquired from Jets for Aaron Rodgers.

Seventh round (No. 232):

Seventh round (No. 235): Pick acquired from Rams as part of Corey Bojorquez trade

Seventh round (No. 242): Pick acquired from Jaguars for Cole Van Lanen

Seventh round (No. 256: Compensatory for Chandon Sullivan

“You guys know how I feel about picks” Gutekunst said at the end of the third round on Friday. “As many as I can get. But … if there’s opportunities to trade up, we certainly will. At the same time, I’d be very content to just stick and pick. I think we have a lot of opportunity in our football team right now and the more swings we can have at the plate I think the better.”